Scrubs Camp – Testimonials from St. Cloud State University on Vimeo.
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About 80 high school students were on the St. Cloud State University campus June 20-22 to explore, learn and get hands-on insight into healthcare professions.
Through experiential learning, Scrubs Camp, a three-day camp for grades 6-12, is designed to provide opportunities for middle and high school students within Central Minnesota to explore healthcare and human services related careers. By partnering with local employers, students were exposed to in-demand careers with the goal of these students becoming the future health and human services workforce.
“Our goal was to attract and retain a newly skilled workforce by offering an innovative camp that highlights the range of health and human services fields at St. Cloud State and shows the greater St. Cloud region as an area for innovation, healthcare entrepreneurship and a place to develop our youth,” said Leah Meredith, experiential learning and outreach director at St. Cloud State.
In partnership with St. Cloud Technical and Community College (SCTCC), high school students attended St. Cloud State while middle school students attended SCTCC.
“With the growing need for healthcare workers, we wanted to provide an opportunity for high school and middle school students to experience life on a college campus, to explore a variety of career paths and ultimately pursue a career in a health-related field,” Meredith said.
High school students spent hands-on time in St. Cloud State’s School of Health and Human Services’ facilities learning about nursing, social work, gerontology, medical laboratory science and speech language pathology and audiology, among others. They also spent a half day at CentraCare Health Plaza in St. Cloud and a half day at The Good Shepherd Community.
Twenty-four percent of students attended the camp thanks to a scholarship supported by the university and community partners.
With the support of HealthForce Minnesota and local community partners there are plans to offer the High School Scrubs Camp every summer and increase the number of attendees and grow into a four-day residential camp.
The camp is sponsored by CentraCare Health, The Good Shepherd Community, Quarks, Lily’s Wings and Things, Rejuv Medical, HealthForce Minnesota and St. Cloud Area School District 742. The project was funded in part by the Initiative Foundation, a regional foundation and Regenerative Medicine Minnesota.
